The Surprising Thing Apple Juice Can Cure

Here’s one good reason to give in to your kid’s screams for juice: Research suggests the honey-hued beverage may be more effective at fighting dehydration than pricier drinks than claim to replenish electrolytes.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that children suffering from the stomach bug recovered faster when they drank a mixture of water and apple juice, versus an electrolyte-enhanced drink similar to Pedialyte.

Researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada studied nearly 650 children between the ages of six months and 5 years who were in the emergency room suffering from stomach flu symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting and mild dehydration. Children were selected at random to consume either a dilute apple juice drink or an apple-flavored with electrolytes to replace lost fluids. The following week at home, the kids in the apple-juice group continued drinking either juice and sports drinks, and the second group continued drinking the electrolyte beverage, according to Mic.com. Only 2.5% of the kids who imbibed apple juice needed subsequent intravenous rehydration, compared to 9% of the children in the electrolyte maintenance group.

The findings have implications for adults, too: Mic.com points out that apple juice is a more cost-effective and dignified hangover cure than stealing your kid’s Pedialyte. The logic? Hangovers are linked to dehydration and are often accompanied by symptoms like headaches, made worse by dehydration, and vomiting, which further depletes electrolytes. That’s reason enough to stock up on AJ -no matter if it’s you (after a night out) or your kid screaming for juice.